Bank of America hikes its U.S. minimum wage to $21 an hour

Bank of America is now paying its U.S. workforce at least $21 an hour — or nearly three times the federal minimum wage of $7.25, which has not budged in a dozen years even though a majority of Americans support an increase.

The pay hike announced by the nation's second-biggest bank on Wednesday follows BofA's May pledge to pay its workers a minimum hourly wage of $25 by 2025. The Charlotte, North Carolina-based lender is also requiring its U.S. vendors pay their workers who are dedicated to the bank's business at least $15 an hour.

BofA's pay hike impacts a sizable number of its 174,000 workers in the U.S. and continues a trajectory that began with the bank raising its hourly minimum to $15 in 2017, then to $17 in 2019 and to $20 last year.